Segovia was not the first important classical guitarist in modern
times. He had a number of competitors during his long career.
Even so he is still regarded as the single person who put the
guitar on the classical music map. To at least the classical music
public he became synonymous with guitar music. What he undoubtedly
did, besides popularizing the instrument, was two-fold: he introduced
Bach and other older masters to modern audiences and he commissioned
and performed music by his contemporaries. This disc covers both
aspects. In spite of some audio-technical limitations to the general
listener these tracks can be enjoyed without too much adjustment
to “murky” sound. The guitar’s narrow dynamic range fits well
into the technique of the time. It has to be said though, as producer
David Lennick points out in a footnote, that the Musicraft recordings
were renowned for bad surfaces. Although the restoration team
has done its best there is still a fair amount of “bacon-frying”,
notably on the Chaconne (track 7). It is noticeable but
not particularly disturbing but then I have for many years indulged
in historical recordings and have grown tolerant. Anyone at all
interested in Segovia or just plain guitar music need not worry.

When it comes to
the playing I made the same observations about the Bach tracks
as I did about corresponding music on a Wanda Landowska disc
of roughly the same vintage. Performing styles have changed
considerably since the 1940s and 1950s. With authentic performance
practice in mind both Landowska and Segovia can appear too romantic
with their rubato playing as opposed to a more strict adherence
to basic tempo. I don’t find it a problem at all; today we can
accept more than one approach to this timeless music. The Bouree
(tr 4) is a bit four-square; on the other hand the Gavotte (tr
5) is exquisite in its lightness and almost improvisatory execution.
Likewise the other Gavotte (tr 8) - the well-known piece from
Lute Suite No. 4, which in its turn is derived from Partita
No. 3 for solo violin. Especially to older listeners it will
be known in Kreisler’s arrangement for violin and piano. It
sounds fluent and delicious here. Most impressive of all is
the nimble finger-work in the great Chaconne (tr. 7).

The two Villa-Lobos
etudes are always pleasing to hear; No 1 (tr 10) is a tour
de force. From Moreno Torroba’s Suite Castellana,
written for Segovia, he recorded two of the three movements,
presented here in reversed order. The slow movement, Arada,
has a theme reminiscent of Nino Rota’s Gelsomina theme
from La Strada, lyrical, melancholy. The Fandanguillo
is airy and fluent with nicely pointed rhythms. Turina also
wrote a Fandanguillo, which is colourful and employs
a lot of inventive playing techniques. Composed in 1925 it seems
to have been one of Segovia’s favourite pieces. This and most
of the Columbia sides have an amazing clarity, compared to the
dimmer Musicraft sound. Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Tarantella
from 1936 is rhythmically exciting and Segovia plays it with
superior verve. The three-movement Sonata Meridional by
Manuel Ponce, whom Segovia had met in Paris, probably evokes
more of the composer’s native Mexico than of Spain, which Segovia
had wished, but it is idiomatically written for the instrument.

Castelnuovo-Tedesco
wrote his first Guitar Concerto for Segovia just before the
outbreak of WW2. Soon afterwards the composer left Italy for
the US, where he settled in Hollywood, earning his salt as a
composer of music for the movies. The first movement of the
concerto is a jolly carefree tune that might have been from
the soundtrack of a vagabond film, the main character walking
with a swagger in the sun, humming or whistling. The slow movement
is beautifully melancholy, maybe, as Colin Cooper suggests in
his excellent notes, “a touching farewell to the Tuscan countryside
that he loved so well and would soon be leaving”. The finale
breathes Spain. The New London Orchestra play well under Alec
Sherman, even though the recording leaves something to be desired.

Segovia continued
to make recordings long after this but maybe he was at the height
of his powers during this period. This disc should be a worthy
addition to any respectable collection of guitar music, not
least since much of this music was very close to his heart.

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